Submitted by Adrienne Raczki
The novel opens with the apparent suicide of ‘it girl’ Lula Landry, a beautiful bi-racial model troubled by her inability to identify with her adoptive white family. Enter Cormoran Strike, former boxer and military man, current fledgling private detective, who is called upon by Lula’s brother to investigate her death. Strike is nobody’s idea of handsome, and after recently calling it off with his upper crust fiancée, he was left bunking in his office.
Also sharing his office is Robin, a young lady sent over by the temp agency whose contract Strike keeps forgetting to cancel. Annoyed as he is by her presence in his ‘home’, and the dent her salary makes in his dwindling accounts, Strike quickly finds that this young woman is a keeper. During the investigation Strike is met with bristly cooperation from the London Police, and he and Robin must think outside the box, disregarding the TMZ version of Lula’s ‘suicide’ that has been painted by the notorious London paparazzi.
The book is rich with plot and character description, really allowing the reader to see the landscapes and characters through the eyes the author intends. Readers will delight in the mystery of both Lula’s death and the darker side of fame.
As the investigation draws to a close, the reader may find themselves surprised by the story climax. The final ‘aha’ moment draws a conclusion that only Cormoran Strike could have discovered, leaving this reader disappointed at the missing tidbits of the story that would have allowed us to predict, along with Strike, how Lula died.
Do try to enjoy this novel without prejudging it based upon the actual author behind this nom de plume…
